Blueye Photography

I’ve been a bad blogger lately and really it’s not because of a lack of motivation. Really it’s due to a lack of follow through. I have these thoughts for blog posts and then I look at the clock and it’s midnight and I need to get to bed (those who know me know that I don’t get nearly enough sleep) and then the post doesn’t happen the next day and a cycle begins. So today I’ve vowed to be in bed by 11:30pm so I have about 15 minutes to get this post done and published (check the published time to see if I succeeded).

Today’s post is just going to seemingly random hodgepodge of things… news bits and goings on in my life recently… and at the end of the post I’ll point out a few new features recently added to the blog.

The weather here in Austin was amazing today… 80 degrees! Hard to believe, but even worse to experience when you are stuck in an office building all day… booo
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I have been going to the gym about 5 times a week for the past 3 months in an effort to get fit. I’d like to shed some fat and just feel better overall (I was noticing a lot of aches and pains from doing normal things that I thought were premature). I’m happy to report that I’ve lost about 7 pounds, all of my clothes are fitting better, and I am definitely getting stronger (leg pressing 350 pounds, bench pressing 185 pounds, and able to go 4 miles on the elliptical machine in 45 minutes). The only real place that you can visibly see that I’m stronger is my arms. Maybe I’ll post a photo sometime… maybe not (I’m not that vain).
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Watching the inauguration this past Tuesday was amazing. I was blown away by the sea of humanity that the Mall in DC turned into for the event. Truly awe inspiring. And I love the fact that the new administration is complaining about the lack of technology in the White House. It’s about time that government got a technology jolt (and not from the military).
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This past weekend I updated the theme on the blog and introduced some new features that should help with the usability of my site. Here’s a quick overview of the new features. Leave me a comment to let me know if they are useful.

1. New navigation… easier to find, read, and use. The about me section is now hidden by default and can be expanded by clicking on the About Me link. There is a built in contact form that will send me an email. And the nav is hooked into my Twitter feed (sweet!)

2. The comments section on each post has been updated to be easier to read… much easier to read.

3. There is a new ShareThis link at the bottom of every post. This will make it easier for you to share any particular post with your social network.

4. At the bottom of the page there is a section that taps into my LifeStream. This is a summary of my social networking life… tying together Facebook updates, Last.fm songs listened to, and YouTube video posts.

As you may or may not know I was born and raised in Pennsylvania… somewhere in the eastern half of the state… closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh… and I went to college in Philadelphia. So, I’m just a little bit of an Eagles fan and they have a huge game coming up in about 10 minutes against the Arizona Cardinals for the right to go to the Super Bowl. I’ll be downstairs yelling at my TV for the next few hours and just wanted to post some good luck love to my Birds. Go Eagles!!

To all my photographer friends out there reading this, are y’all going to WPPI next month? I still haven’t decided. Leave me a comment and let me know if you are going and if I should go too.

So this post has a photo here is a photo of Kendra and Jeremy’s new baby boy, Jayden (thanks to grandma for sending me the photo) and his parents from their e-session. Congratulations guys!!

Happy New Year!  It’s hard to believe that it’s already 2009.  Where does the time go and who can I talk to about slowing it down a bit?

New year’s day is always a mix for me.  I’m not a fan of pork and sauerkraut nor black eyed peas so I’m unlucky in both Pennsylvania (where I grew up) and Texas (where I live)… I look forward to setting goals for the year ahead… and I like to look back at all of the accomplishments that me, my family, and friends have made over the past year.  I’m happy to be moving forward… making progress, but I’m also sad to say goodbye to another wonderful year.  So, for the first time on this blog I’ve put together a “Year in Photos” slideshow.  It has over 250 photos and moves very fast so hang on (and if it stops a few times to load try pausing it for a bit and letting it download the rest of the show). I don’t really have a resolution list for 2009… I do, however, have an ever growing to-do list (containing boring things like get an annual physical, hang new light in guest bathroom, get to the endodontist to get my crown checked, etc).

Whether you have a to-do list like me or a more traditional resolution list, here’s to accomplishing everything we plan to do in 2009!

I saw this over at Becker’s blog and wanted to pass it along. You may not agree with the religious aspects of the message, but its a powerful message nonetheless. This year Melanie and I, along with both our families, set a limit on what we would spend on gifts for each other and you know what? The gifts we received are things we can actually use (for the most part) and we spent more time doing things with each other than shopping.

To all my wonderful clients and friends:
This time of year is always a great time. Seeing family and friends who have missed you for months and catching up with everything not going on on Facebook. It’s a time of joy and thankfulness for all the blessings that have been shared with us and a time for us to relax (ha!) and just spend time with the people that mean the most to us. Melanie and I will be spending the next week surrounded by family and friends soaking in everything that’s happened since our last trip and afterwords we’ll need a little vacation (see the timestamp on this entry? yes I am up that early… this is just the beginning). As much as we joke about needing a vacation after our vacation it truly is a blessing to be able to travel and spend time with family. We hope that you find yourself surrounded by loved ones in the coming weeks and that you truly have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Blueye Photography will be closed from now until 1/5. If you send an email to us or call during this time we will respond in the new year.

It was a happy day at the Blueye household.  Melanie, Bella, and I spent a quiet day at home making a turkey feast and then eating ourselves into a coma (okay… I was the only one who fell asleep on the couch afterward).  I’ve been eating more healthily lately and have been going to the gym at least 4 times a week in an effort to shed some weight and get more fit… and this meal really threw me off my schedule today.  Normally I eat 5-7 small portions throughout the day.  Today I had 4 (breakfast, snack, HUGE lunch, snack)… I will be visiting the gym tomorrow to work some of it off.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day and took the time to think about all of the blessings they have to be thankful about in their lives.  Times are tough and if we don’t find and acknowledge the positive things going on in our lives we can easily get swept away by all of the negativety around us.

I’m thankful for:

• My loving wife
• My family (who I miss dearly on Thanksgiving)
• My health
• My Bella
• My job
• My friends

If everything else fell to pieces and these things remained I could survive… for them I am truly thankful.

And what would a Thanksgiving day post be without some turkey day photos?

My friend Katie (check out her travel blog) found this fun piece of software for the Mac (sorry PC readers!) called Poladroid. You drag any of your photos into the Poladroid and it creates a Polaroid version of it… complete with slow developing time, inconsistent emulsions, and fingerprints on the photo. I love Polaroid cameras so this has been a treat for me. Download it and give it a try.

Words fail me on a day like today.  Every election is history making, but this one seems to have more significance than most in the past.  I hope that you cast your vote for the candidate of your choice.  Now we get to sit and wait… impatiently.

I hope that you, your family, and your friends all had a groovy Halloween! I know I did